finally common sense surfacing!

What a circus this country is - full of people, groups and sects only wanting to get something for themselves ... when will this country realise that they need to follow their national laws and in the process have respect for their own judicial system? Oh, and get on with improving the living standard of its people ...

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110325-327641/Open-pit-mining-ban-opposed

Open pit mining ban opposed
By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:40:00 03/25/2011

Filed Under: Mining and quarrying, Local authorities
A PROVINCIAL ban on open pit mining, which could derail the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold project in Mindanao, has generated opposition even from within South Cotabato itself.

The $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold project, which would be the largest single foreign direct investment in the Philippines once implemented, straddles the municipality of Tampakan in South Cotabato, Kiblawan in Davao del Sur, and Columbio in Sultan Kudarat.

Sources said the majority of the nine members of the technical working group (TWG) that drafted the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the environment code that bans open pit mining oppose the ordinance.

In a position paper, dissenting members of the TWG said, ?The prohibition on open pit mining method in general contravenes national statutes and appears to be an act beyond the jurisdiction and authority of the South Cotabato provincial government.? The authority, they said, rested on the national government.

?The prohibition of (the) open pit mining method for the extraction and removal of quarry sources would have immediate adverse impact on agriculture, construction and infrastructure projects in the province,? they said.

Limited

They also said the ban on open pit mining method for quarrying (limestone, clay, and sand and gravel) and extraction of mineral deposits was limited to the ?devolved? powers, which now rested on local governments, to issue small-scale mining and quarry (sand and gravel mining) permits.

A copy of the position paper obtained by the Inquirer stated that the draft IRR for the ordinance was created ?despite the absence, unavailability, and request for postponement of a significant number of TWG members.?

South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. confirmed in a phone interview that members of the TWG had expressed dissent.

Pingoy said the TWG members opposed to the ban wanted to attach their comments to the IRR. However, he said, the TWG was created to create rules implementing the code, not to review the code. Only the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, he said, had the authority to review and repeal or modify the ordinance.

?I have suggested that they file their opposition formally with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and appeal for a review of the code. Other parties opposed to the code can also seek legal remedy in court,? Pingoy said.

Tug-of-war

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, has opposed the open pit mining ban on grounds that national laws allow such a method. The Mining Act of 1995, for one, does not prohibit it.

Despite the tug-of-war between national and local mining laws, Tampakan proponent Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) appears to remain committed to its project.

SMI Communications manager John Arnaldo said ?while the Tampakan project is not immediately impacted by the ban, we continue to monitor this issue closely and engage with all stakeholders regarding the proposed development of the project.?

SMI is controlled by global mining giant Xstrata Copper while Australian Indophil Resources NL has a minority stake.

?We are aware that some members of the Technical Working Group tasked by the South Cotabato provincial government to draft the IRR, lodged their dissent to some provisions of the Environment Code, including the ban on open pit mining, a method that is allowed by the Philippine Mining Act of 1995,? Arnaldo said.

Special hearings

Arnaldo also said SMI had been ?encouraged? by special hearings conducted recently by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to consider a review of the Environment Code in response to petitions from our host communities, local government units, and other key stakeholders.

The mining executive also said SMI welcomed recent statements made by Energy Secretary Jose Almendras stressing the need to tap the coal resources in South Cotabato. Existing and proposed coal projects in the province will also be affected by the ban on open pit mining.

Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp., which has bought a 10-percent stake in Indophil, acquired last year mining firm Daguma Agro Minerals Inc., which has development and production rights in coal-rich Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.

Also last year, SMI completed its environmental impact assessment for the Tampakan project. SMI said it would continue to undertake extensive stakeholder engagement activities during the first half of 2011 to explain in detail its impact assessment and environmental management plans.

?SMI remains committed to the principles of sustainable development endorsed by the (environment) code and we believe that open pit mining methods are entirely compatible with these principles,? Arnaldo said.